Adios Sabata DVD review

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Film entry
Review of the European MGM release, roughly identical with all other MGM releases of the film.
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The Film

Indio Black (Yul Brynner, in most countries called Sabata, although some jokes don't make sense then) is a bounty killer, hired by a Mexican influencial to kill Austrian Colonel Schimmel (Gerard Herter) who is terrorizing the country's peasant population during Austria's stint at subjugating Mexico. He also hires a colorful gang of bandits to help him out. To complicate things, there's an American artist and luckster called Valentine (Dean Reed), and they are not sure which side he is playing, probably only the side with the gold, because gold is what the general intends to smuggle, but the Mexicans need it to buy arms for their revolution. They plot a daring heist, and it goes well, but the Colonel, wicked like a true Austrian, tricked them and the gold turns out to be sand. So they change plans, one involving lots of dynamite and dead bodies....

More like an unofficial sequel to the Sabatas with Lee Van Cleef, Adios Sabata does deliver, somewhat. The big-budget Grimaldi production does have its strengths, and that money muscle especially comes into play when looking at production design and action scenes. Yul Brynner delivers a character you could care less about, nothing but a few cool lines and his usual deep voice. The story is nothing out of the ordinary and the script jumps quite a bit, I had trouble following it at some point, and it wasn't exciting enough to keep me awake (granted, I was tired when I was watching it). It has a terrific score by Bruno Nicolai and Parolini did a great directing job with this. All in all, an entertaining film, that showcases some of the directions a film can take when money and hollywood come into play, but it clearly lacks substance and at times just doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Only the Italian title works for a few jokes, by the way.

The DVD

This is a regular MGM release, the American version of it is probably the same aside from the NTSC difference and the languages on offer. The picture is anamorphic and quite nice, no complaints there. The audio is the same, although it could've used some more dynamism. There are zero extras on this, not even a trailer. I've read about an alternate ending where the gold reaches the catholic mission where Indio Black grew up, but apparently this is missing from almost all versions of this film available.

Verdict

Adios Sabata, while not terribly different from the other two out of the series, is an average spaghetti western that flexes some budget muscle and does have really nice acting and music, but it lacks depth and originality. It is worth watching though, especially if you can find the DVD at low price, because although of very good quality, the DVD offers no extra value but the film itself.

--Sebastian 22:22, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

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